Light But Hearty: Shrimp & Corn Chowder
I took a brief hiatus from blogging over the holidays, but if you follow Minneapple Eats on Instagram or Twitter you will see there was no hiatus from fine dining and eating myself silly! I'm actually looking forward to cooking and eating dinner at home tonight after about two weeks of going out for multiple meals and coffee a day and holiday dinners. We've even been to both Hola Arepa and Five Watt TWICE in the past week (which obvi means it was the best week ever).
While we had some decent weather just before the New Year, 2015 is off to a chilly start! Nothing warms the heart and soul better than a hearty bowl of chowder. After all the holiday indulgences, though, I chose to ligthen up this recipe by omitting bacon, a common ingredient in corn chowder. That said, bacon would be an excellent addition to this dish. There's only a 1/2 cup of milk in it or so, which we can just call a dose of calcium.
Also, I HIGHLY recommend picking up a jar of lobster-flavored Better than Bouillion to make the broth for this (pic below). All of their bouillion paste flavors are excellent, but the lobster flavor adds a rich depth that complements the shrimp well without weighing it down. A jar of Better than Bouillion will run you $5-7 but it's totally worth it if you use broth on a semi-regular basis, and it's concentrated so it lasts quite some time. I currently have jars of chicken, beef, mushroom and lobster in my fridge. I'm obsessed. Whatever ingedients you decide to use, this chowder is sure to warm you up on a cold night.
Shrimp & Corn Chowder
Serves: 2-3
Preparation Time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. butter, divided
1/2 lb. raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 tsp. smoked paprika, divided
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 small russett potato, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 small carrot, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. thyme, dried
splash of sweet vermouth or wine (optional)
2 c. corn kernels
1.5 c. broth (I used Better Than Bouillion Lobster, it's amazing!)
1/2 c. milk (I used whole)
green onions, to garnish
Method:
1. Add 1/2 tbsp. butter to a medium-sized pot. Once melted, add the onion, potato, celery and carrot. Saute over medium heat until all the veggies start to soften, 10-15 minutes. Then add minced garlic, other tsp. paprika, and dried thyme. Continue to saute a bit longer. If it appears at any point that the veggies are starting to stick to the pan, deglaze it with a splash of sweet vermouth or white wine.
2. Meanwhile, heat other 1/2 tbsp. butter in a frying pan. Once it has melted and the pan is hot, add shrimp, sprinkle with 1 tsp. paprika and saute until they're just barely cooked through. Remove from pan, set aside, and keep them warm.
3. Add corn kernels, broth and milk. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat. Once potatoes are soft enough to puree, use an immersion blender or an actual blender to blend about half of the chowder. You can puree the entire pot if you like a thinner soup or don't puree it at all if you like it really chunky. I prefer somewhere in between.
4. Chop reserved shrimp into bite size pieces and then add to the chowder. Stir and let warm until everything is heated through. Top with chopped green onions.
